Package stacker



011.23, 1945 I H, CROSS 2, PACKAGE sTAcrmR Fil ed Dec. 9, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1- HARRY M CROSS INVENTOR Y f/wel AGENT Oct. 23, 1945. H. M. CROSS PACKAGE STACKER Filed Dec. 9, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.3.

HARRYM. CROSS v v INVENTOR BY {Ma 21 r [(7 r iii l.

FIG.5.

AGENT .directions of travel.

Patented Oct. 23, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PACKAGE s'rAcKEa Harry M. Cross, Rochester, N. Y. Application December 9, 1944, Serial No. 567,383

2 Claims. (01. 198 158) This invention relates to package stackers, and particularly to that type of mechanism that is built on a self-contained, portable base which may be placed in'a selectedposition in a warehouse or stockroom,L connected with a source of power, thereby being set in motion to carry articles up to one or more stations where they maybe picked ofi" and piled The mechanism may be reversed to. permit articles lifted from a pile to be brought down to near floor level where they may bi; manually removed from the machine;

The stackeris designed to run continuously while in use for the above operations. The es sential parts 'of the device comprise an endless .chain which follows a path in a fiat plane; a

series ofbrackets or package lifters attached to thechain at spaced intervals; and a power drive capable of moving the chain and lifters in two The frameand associated parts are preferably of standard structural steel shapes. iv

One object of the invention is the provision of be convenientlyxmoved about. A second object is to insure that packages placed in the stacker will remain upright until removed.

Another object is to provide a mechanism of this character that may tipped or tilted to permit Fig. 3 is a horizontal section at line 3-3 of Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the stacker head shaft; and

Fig. 5 is a plan section of a detail of the chain guide.

The structure is shown herewith as made up of structural steel members, the base proper being of angles III, II, preferably welded together to constitute a rectangular frame, which may have casters I2 for easy movement on a floor. Upright side piers l3 of channel section carry a cross-shaft or trunnion M on which the entire working assembly may be tilted, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, to reduce the overall height should be noted that for different height limits the same base, pintlev and drive mechanism may be used, guides and associated parts merely being made longer or shorter as required.

Near the top of the guides I! cross-members l8 are fixed (Fig.4), these preferably being reenforced by stifieners IS. A plate 20, welded to :a stacker as above outlined which is inexpensive and durable, safe to operate, and which may the upper member I8 carries long studs 2| which pass through a shaft 22. This shaft therefore is non-rotative, and a sprocket 23 free to turn thereon is, in elfect, an idler over which passes an endless chain 24, the lower part of the chain passing around the underside of another sprocket 25, which is keyed or otherwise fixed to a driven shaft 26. Sprocket 25 thus acts asa driver for the chain 24. The shaft 26 may revolve in pillow blocks or other suitable bearings 21 that are fastened to a heavy transverse angle 28 welded to the main side members l5. The long studs 2| are provided with lock nuts 2H on both top and bottom of shaft 22 and the plate 20, so that an adjustment of the uppe sprocket 23 may be readily obtained for taking up slack or stretch in chain 24. When the chain is stretched beyond a certain point, the screws 2| may be backed down sufiiciently to permit the removal of one chain link, and then the screws may be readjusted to level the shaft 22 and place the chain under correct tension.

The carrier chain 24 is actuated by a motor 30, which, through a self-aligning coupling 3|, may drive a suitable reduction gearing 32, and the end sprocket 33 of the latter may, through a chain 34, drive a large sprocket 35 that'is fixed to the lower shaft 26 to which main driving sprocket 25 is-keyed. The motor is. mounted on a transverse member 30 welded to the tiltable side members l5. A suitable control switch 36 may be provided whereby, through reversal of the motor, the chain 24 may be caused to travel in either direction, or the motor speed may be varied.

The package lifters before mentioned include stirrup-shaped plates 40 that are fastened to brackets or hangers of substantially the form of an L, which have their lower arms 4| at a slight angle from horizontal. The vertical arm 42 of each L bracket is pivoted at 43 on a single stud extending forwardly from one chain link pin, and such pins are provided at suitably spaced intervals throughout the length of chain 24. It is obvious that the brackets 4I42, which are preferably of cast metal, constitute pendulumlike carriers, and are therefore always suspended in an upright position from their respective pivots 43 so that the packages (one being indicated at P in Fig. 2) are unlikely to become dislodged when placed in the receptacle plates 40, particularly because of the pendulum efiect of the whole, and also because of the backward slope of the arms 4| toward the chain 24.

To insure a minimum of friction which might cause the pendulum supports to drag laterally, as they ride past the centers of the upper or lower sprockets and thus tilt from the vertical,

a narrow ridge 44 is cast near the bottom of arm 42. This ridge projects rearwardly and acts as a line or point bearing against the front faces or angles l1 and of guards or cover plates G that are fixed in place as a safety precaution to prevent a user from becoming caught in the chains or sprockets when loading or unloading packages or articles.

To further lessen the drag or frictionv of the moving parts, each pivot pin 43 is provided with a beveled washer or spacer 45 (Fig. 5) whichbears against the rear edges of the front arms of the angle uprights l1. As these washers are free to rotate on said pivots, friction is reduced, and furthermore the chain and the lifters are caused to ride without noticeable vibration or jerky movements.

To maintain the structure in a working .position a counterweight W is attached to the lower ends of angles I1, and is so proportioned that after the Working parts are tilted as aforesaid and then released, they automatically will assume a normal relation immediately. Suitable stop lugs 46 may be located on the angle base pieces H to define the position of the upright members ll.

It has been found desirable for some services to have the whole working structure tilted rearwardly in its operating position, to an angle of 2 or 3 degrees from the vertical; The stop lugs 46 may be adjusted as required to accomplish this condition, although such adjustment is not indicated in the drawings.

Although the device as illustrated herewith indicates a preferred form of the invention, and one that has proven practical in use, it is obvious that it is capable of considerable modification. It is intended, therefore, that the invention shall encompass any and all structures capable of fulfilling the functions above set forth, so long as such structures properly fall within the terminology and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described comprising in combination, a base, a horizontal trunnion mounted on the base, a, substantially rectangular elongated frame mounted on said trunnion, a counterweight on the lower portion of said frame tending to retain the latter upright, an endless chain, a driving and a driven sprocket for said means to adjust one of said sprockets on said frame whereby the chain may be adjusted, driving means including suitable gearing connected with said driving sprocket, and a plurality of package supporting carriers spaced at intervals 0n and movable with the chain, said carriers being mounted in the manner of pendulu ms so that they remain substantially upright regard less of their position on the chain while theen tire device is in normal operation and also movable parallel to the plane of the sprockets as may be required in operation.

2. A package stacker comprising, in combination, a base, posts mounted on the base, a horizontal trunnion extending between said posts, a normally upright counterweighted irame pivotally mounted on said trunnion, sprockets re'volubly mounted on the r-rame'adjacent the ends of the latter, driving means connected with one sprocket, an endless chain passing 'over both sprockets, and package carriers attached to brackets of substantially 'L-shape, sai'd brackets being hung in the manner of pendulum's on spaced pin'tle's in said chain, whereby all the brackets tend toremain in a package-receiving position regardless of the direction of travel of the chain but are freely movable from said position as required in operation of the stacker.

' GRQSS; 

